BUTTE — After some hesitancy earlier this summer, Butte’s chief executive has decided he will seek a second term as head of Butte-Silver Bow.
“I’m the right guy for this job. That’s, you know, I wouldn’t run if I didn’t think I was the right person for the job,” said Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher.
Gallagher will seek a second term after first winning the chief executive position over then-incumbent Dave Palmer in 2020. Earlier this year, Gallagher was reconsidering running after dealing with what he said was a "health scare" and wanting his family’s support.
“You’re always on the job in this and that’s the responsibilities this job has, so I needed to work with my family and make sure we wanted to take on this role for another five years and they we’re absolutely in support of that,” said Gallagher.
Gallagher believes Butte has improved economically during his time in office.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the economic growth that we’ve had in the last three years than we’ve had in the last 50,” he said.
Gallagher said the Superfund cleanup is one of the important issues he’ll be dealing with if he gets a second term.
“We continue to fight for the cleanup we were promised, and we will be at the table every single day, I can promise the community that,” said Gallagher.
So far, Gallagher’s only contender for the office is Bill Foley who announced his candidacy in October.
“I not running against other people, I’m running on a record I think I’ve proven, the leadership that I’ve given to the community and where we’re going to go moving forward,” Gallagher said.
Candidates have until March to file for public office in Butte.
